Chapter 482: Eye Opener
Translator: Henyee Translations Editor: Henyee Translations
At Guangxi Garden.
Once inside, the crowd was drawn to various attractions: captivating paintings, colorful stalls, diverse foods, intricate lanterns, and vibrant cloth-based calligraphy and art. The whole garden buzzed with excitement and noise.
Along the lakeshore, display stands circled the area, creating an exhibition-like atmosphere filled with paintings.
“These paintings are incredibly cute.”
“I’ve never seen such a style before. The artist is quite talented.”
“Who else could organize a food festival like this but someone truly capable?”
At this moment, a few people surrounded a painting with many shoes and commented. They looked like they had learned a lot today.
In front of Chu Qingzhi’s stall.
A young girl eagerly pointed at a sandwich, asking, “Auntie, what’s this?”
Li Qingyu, unfamiliar with selling, replied nervously, “It’s a type of breakfast. Would you like to try it?”
The girl, looking at her companions, said, “Yes, two please.”
Li Qingyu wrapped them in wax paper. “We also have bread, rice dumplings, and biscuits. Would you like some?”
The girl shook her head, “Not now. I can’t eat that much. I’ll buy more when I leave to take home.”
“Alright.” Li Qingyu handed the two sandwiches to the little girl. “Eighty copper coins.”
The girl handed the money to Li Qingyu and took the sandwich. “If it’s delicious, I’ll buy more later.”
“Take care.” In less than the time it takes an incense stick to burn, she had sold over ten sandwiches. Business was booming. Li Qingyu smiled and continued to entertain the next customer.
The county magistrate and the secretary entered the Guangxi Garden.
The magistrate looked around and was about to speak when a candy was stuffed into his hand. He was stunned, then walked in. “Not bad. It’s so lively.”
The secretary also had candy in his hand. He looked down and smiled. “Miss Chu seems to be very successful in everything.”
The county magistrate agreed. “That’s right. Fortunately, she’s in our Shuiyun County. If she was in another county, that’d be a great loss for us.”
“Lord Tao, you’re here too.” County Magistrate Yun of Tongzi County walked over in casual clothes with a smile on his face. He was jealous. Why didn’t he have such talent in the county he ruled? Just one day, they could collect countless taxes. It was a huge profit!
“Lord Yun, what brings you here?” County Magistrate Tao puffed out his chest and was very proud. He must be jealous. Hahaha, it’s useless to be jealous!
“I came to see your glory,” Magistrate Yun muttered under his breath, cursing Magistrate Tao for his pretense, yet his smile grew warmer.
“Are you satisfied with this scene, Lord Yun?” Magistrate Tao asked, basking in his triumph, like basking in the spring breeze.
“Satisfied, very satisfied…” Magistrate Yun smiled awkwardly.
“Let’s go for a walk. See that painting by the lake? You haven’t seen it before, have you?” Magistrate Tao said, leading the way to the exhibition, feeling extremely pleased with himself.
Magistrate Yun gritted his teeth and followed.
Sigh, he thought, it’s frustrating to think he won’t surpass Magistrate Tao in political achievements.
Fan Yuru and Rong Shiyu, along with two other ladies, entered Guangxi Garden.
“So many people!” Fan Yuru exclaimed, looking at the crowd in the garden, packed like ants.
“This is hosted by Qingzhi, how could it not be crowded?” Rong Shiyu said proudly, glad to have a good sister like Chu Qingzhi.
Fan Yuru, who was also fond of Chu Qingzhi, sincerely remarked, “If Qingzhi were a man, she could definitely be a high official.”
“Then she would marry you, wouldn’t she?” Rong Shiyu teased.
Fan Yuru laughed heartily and said, “Haha, if Qingzhi wanted to marry me, I would say yes without hesitation.”
Rong Shiyu shook her head in pity, “Too bad, in this lifetime we can only be sisters.”
As they joked, they walked towards the food area.
Half of the stalls here sold food, offering a dazzling array of choices.
Fan Yuru generously declared, “Let’s eat whatever we want, it’s on me.”
Rong Shiyu’s eyes were drawn to an apple pie, “I want to try that, do you?”
Fan Yuru looked over, “I’ve never seen this before.”
“That’s the point,” Rong Shiyu replied. They had lived in the capital for over a decade and had seen everything; it was refreshing to find something new.
“Shall we try it?”
“Let’s try.”
Approaching a stall, Fan Yuru asked about the apple pie, “What’s this called? How much is it?”
Li Qingyu replied with a smile, “Apple pie, two copper coins per piece.”
“We’ll take one,” Fan Yuru said, looking around. “Can we have a small table to eat here?”
“Of course.”
Chu Rong quickly fetched a small table and four chairs, setting them up in a somewhat secluded spot behind a tree. “Please, have a seat.”
The four ladies sat down at the table.
Li Qingyu cut the apple pie into four pieces and considerately arranged bowls and chopsticks, “Please, ladies.”
“Thank you.”
Fan Yuru sniffed it, “It smells so good, I like it.”
One of the ladies regretfully said, “I don’t like apples.”
After tasting a bite, Rong Shiyu found it delicious, “Try it and see, if you don’t like it, we won’t eat it.”
The lady nodded, “Okay.”
Despite claiming not to like apples, she found the pie delicious and doubted the authenticity of the apples she had eaten before; these tasted completely different.
After finishing the pie, Fan Yuru pointed to a sandwich, “Auntie, we’d like one of those for each of us.”
“Alright, I’ll get it for you immediately.”
Fan Yuru, seeing Rong Shiyu engrossed in the food, said, “I realize now how little I’ve seen; this small town has so many delicacies.”
Rong Shiyu nodded in agreement. “I’ll try something else later. I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
The lady added, “I saw something like water, shall we have a bowl?”
“Okay.”
“Auntie said that this is sugarcane juice. It’s not elegant to eat sugarcane juice, but drinking it will be fine. Smart.”
As they ate and chatted, they were soon full.
And then, the opening ceremony began.
“Boom, boom, boom—”
On the left side of the stage, there was a big drum. Tang Jinghong walked to the big drum and beat it heavily.
The drum’s sound was clear and powerful, capturing everyone’s attention. The crowd quieted down.
After eighteen beats, the drumming stopped and the sound of a guqin began…
Chu Xuyuan and Chu Xuyao sat properly at a table, skillfully plucking the strings of their guqins.
Their performance was average, but it sufficed for the occasion. It wasn’t about the quality of the play but about creating an atmosphere..